In early 2012 in the wake of economic uncertainty and industry-wide losses, shipping industry giant Maersk Lines deliberated about its future pricing strategy. Should it continue a strategy of aggressive price cutting as has often worked to its advantage in the past? Or should it consider raising prices for its services despite a weak demand and strong competition?

Stephan Meier is an Associate Professor at Columbia Business School. He holds a PhD in Economics from the University of Zurich, was previously a senior economist at the Center for Behavioral Economics and Decision-Making at the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston and taught courses on strategic interactions and economic policy at Harvard University and the University of Zurich. His research interest is in behavioral...

Professor Kim studies status competition in market and non-market (i.e., government and regulatory) settings. One stream of research investigates how status influences the strategic outcomes for life sciences and healthcare firms, from alliance formation to FDA approval speed for new drugs. Another stream focuses on how status considerations bias the decision-making process of individuals and organizations in a wide range of contexts, including...